This rum sour cocktail builds on the classic combination of rum and lemon to create a libation that is deliciously, delightfully different. Expect tart flavours, mellow sweetness and the luscious taste of rum to shine in this easy to make sours cocktail.
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The rum sour is a cocktail that easily gets overlooked beside other dominant sours cocktails, but I urge you to give it a try. Rum and lemon juice work in harmony together and, of course, it’s easy to get creative by varying the rum, sweetener or citrus juice.
And get creative is exactly what I’ve done with my version of the rum sour cocktail that I’m presenting today. Expect plenty of sublime flavour in this easy to make drink.
What is a sours cocktail?
A sours cocktail in its most basic form comprises a base spirit, lemon or lime juice and a sweetener.
There are endless versions of sours cocktails around. The whisky sour is perhaps the most common but Pisco sours, gin sours, brandy sours and rum sours are all common too.
Many common sours cocktails go by names you most likely have already heard of such as the Margarita, Gimlet, Sidecar, Paloma and Daiquiri.
Lemon juice is often the first choice when it comes to making a sours cocktail. And it works exceedingly well. But there are other options including lime, orange and grapefruit. Experimenting with cocktails is something I can’t resist so I moved away from the basic rum and lemon pairing for my rum sour.
As far as the sweetener goes although simple syrup is prevalent in most sours cocktails this can also be varied. In fact, I love to meddle with different ways of sweetening my sours drink to add unique characteristics to each one. I’ve got creative with maple syrup and a chamomile syrup in some of my recipes.
Why this one is worth making
If I really need to tempt you further with this rum and lemon cocktail note the following reasons why this drink is a winner.
- It ticks the sweet and sour box perfecly – neither characteristic dominates
- The rum adds plenty of warming flavour
- There’s a mellowness about it thanks to the honey
- The blend of lemon and lime adds extra zing to the final flavour
- The foamy top adds an air of luxury to the presentation
Ingredients notes
Rum – the blindingly obvious star ingredient in any rum sour! I’ve used Rumbullion, which is a deep amber coloured spiced Caribbean rum. It’s brimming with intoxicatingly delicious notes of vanilla, orange, cassia, cardamom and cloves. When combined with the citrus juice in this cocktail it presents a lively serve. Any dark, amber or spiced rum could be used in it’s place though.
Citrus juice – although rum and lemon are common in classic rum sours, I’ve included lime juice too. It adds an extra layer of interest to the final flavour profile. I highly recommend you try it.
Honey – I did experiment significantly with different sweeteners, trying this sours cocktail out using simple syrup, demerara syrup, maple syrup and honey. The latter was by far my favourite. It stood out leaps and bounds and I genuinely felt the alternative versions lacked a little spark in comparison. The next best alternative would be maple syrup.
Egg white – this is optional but does add several qualities to the drink so I’d urge you not to leave it out. Aside from that enviable foamy top (on which the Angustoras bitters can be playfully scattered), shaking egg white into a cocktail lends viscosity and smoothness to the liquid. Don’t believe me? Try it and thank me later.
Step-by-step instructions
- Measure the alcohol, lemon juice, lime juice, honey and egg white into a cocktail shaker.
- Secure the lid and shake hard (the dry shake).
- Now add a large handful of ice and shake again (the wet shake).
- Strain into a suitable glass and garnish as desired (try scattering drops of Angustoras bitters over the top then using a cocktail stick to drag each droplet into a pattern).
Expert tips
This rum sour cocktail is easy to make but keep the following tips in mind to enjoy this libation at its best:
- If there’s time chill your serving glass or place a few ice cubes it it while you make the drink, then discard them when ready to serve. This helps ensure the drink is served refreshingly ice cold.
- Use a cocktail jigger to get accurate measurements. Cocktails are finely balances beauties and guessing or using approximate measures is not the best approach to take when mixing them.
- Don’t forget to shake the drink twice – first without ice (the dry shake) then with ice (the wet shake). It’s the best way to create that creamy top
- Shaking without ice first also ensures the honey gets mixed into the drink rather than solidifying at the bottom of the shaker due to the coldness of the ice.
- Use plenty of ice in the cocktail shaker. This helps chill the drink and dilute it.
- The Angustoras bitters garnish is optional. Alternatives, such as a twist or lemon or lime peel work well on this rum and lemon cocktail too.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can. The egg white does add wonderful texture and mouthfeel to the drink, not just that pretty top, so only leave it out if you really have to.
There are 2 ingredients in this rum and lemon cocktail that need to be replaced to turn it into a vegan rum sour:
1. In place of honey use maple syrup as an alternative. It has a lovely depth of mellow flavour that also tallies pleasingly with rum.
2. You’ll also need to use aquafaba into the cocktail mix in place of the egg white. It’s vegan and makes an acceptable substitute for those hoping to achieve that enviable foamy layer on top of their rum sour.
I don’t like to get too hung up on selecting the correct glassware. I tend to go with what I think a cocktail would look good in (I’m such a rebel).
This drink looks equally impressive in a classic sours glass (like the ones pictured) and also in a short tumbler loaded up with ice. It could also look quite graceful in a deep coupe-style glass such as this one (bought from H&M Home several years ago).
Quite simply, the daiquiri is always made with white rum whereas a rum sour is made with dark, amber or spiced rum. This difference not only affects the taste but also the appearance of the drink.
Technically, a daiquiri can be classed as a rum sour but not all rum sours are daiquiris.
Variations
- Make an Amaretto rum sour – replace the bourbon with rum in this recipe for Disaranno sour.
- Go with an aged rum sour – this one does require aged rum.
- Or try out a Jamaican rum sour – you guessed it, use Jamaican rum for this one.
- Use just lemon juice or just lime juice.
More sours cocktails to try
Have you made this sours cocktail? If so please let me know how you got along with the recipe by leaving a comment and/ or rating below. I always love to hear from my valued readers.
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Recipe
Rum Sour Cocktail
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail shaker or a large sturdy screwtop jar
- 1 Jigger for accurately measuring the ingredients
- 1 Strainer or sieve
Ingredients
- 40 ml Rum Spiced, dark or amber all work well
- 10 ml Lemon juice
- 10 ml Lime juice
- 10 ml Honey
- 15 g Egg white
To Garnish (optional)
- Dried orange
- Angustoras bitters
Instructions
- Measure all liquids into the cocktail shaker.
- Secure the top and shake hard for 30 seconds.
- Now add a large handful of ice to the shaker and shake well for another 30 seconds.
- Strain into a serving glass and garnish as desired – a few drops of Angustoras bitters scattered on top of the egg white foam look great – each droplet can be pulled into a pattern using the end of a cocktail stick.
Notes
- If there’s time chill your serving glass or place a few ice cubes it it while you make the drink, then discard them when ready to serve. This helps ensure the drink is served refreshimngly ice cold.
- Use a cocktail jigger to get accurate measurements. Cocktails are finely balances beauties and guessing or using approximate measures is not the best approach to take when mixing them.
- Don’t forget to shake the drink twice – first without ice (the dry shake) then with ice (the wet shake). It’s the best way to create that creamy top.
- Shaking without ice first also ensures the honey gets mixed into the drink rather than solidifying at the bottom of the shaker due to the coldness of the ice.
- Use plenty of ice in the cocktail shaker. This helps chill the drink and dilute it.
- The Angustoras bitters garnish is optional. Alternatives, such as a twist or lemon or lime peel work well too.
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